Thailand’s army chief declares martial law

WarangkanaChomchuen

JamesHookway

A Thai soldier takes up a position in front of the Royal Thai Police Sports Club in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s armed forces declared martial law in a surprise predawn move Tuesday, but said it wasn’t staging a coup d’état to end the country’s sometimes violent political conflicts.

Army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha issued a pair of statements at 3 a.m. and later appeared on television to say that martial law was necessary across the country to address the worsening security situation. Thailand is bitterly divided between supporters of its populist government and its conservative opponents who have been massing on the streets for over half a year in a bid to topple the administration.

In the military’s first announcement, Gen. Prayuth said that the escalating violence related to political protests in and around Bangkok have “a tendency to stir riot and serious chaos in several areas, which affect national security and people’s safety.”

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Before Gen. Prayuth went on air, army-run television station Channel 5 ran a ticker message across the bottom of its screen urging the public not to panic.

“The army aims to keep peace and maintain the safety and security of the people of all sides,” it said. “Please do not be alarmed and carry on with business as usual. This is not a coup.”

The network also broadcast a series of patriotic ballads — in some cases with English subtitles — featuring scenes of soldiers doing good deeds or declaring their love for their country, as troops stepped up their presence in the city. Soldiers appeared at key intersections and mobilized outside some television stations.

Over 24 people have been killed in political violence since the current wave of protests began in November, deepening the fissures in a country where the memory of the coup that removed former leader Thaksin Shinawatra from power in 2006 remains vivid.

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